“We’re arriving somewhere,” said Captain Arnold. “Well, we can’t go back, so we must go forward! I wonder what that bright light is!”
They soon found out! The boat went slowly forward, passed through the archway — and the four found, to their enormous amazement, that the river flowed through what looked like a big and most magnificent room!
The floor was of great smooth stones, polished till they shone. The walls were covered with brilliant hangings, all the colours of the rainbow, and the ceiling which was domed in glittering stones, rose up high and beautiful. From it hung the great gleaming lamp that gave the bright light the four had seen through the archway.
Stone tables stood here and there, and there were piles of soft rugs on the floor. Great vases and pitchers stood about filled with the brilliant flowers of the countryside. Three parrots screeched in a golden cage and five little monkeys huddled together in a corner.
Through the middle of this strange apartment, hidden right in the heart of the mountain, flowed one of the many underground rivers that gurgled their way towards the openings in the mountain rock through which they could fall down the hillside.
“This reminds me of a fairy-tale!” said Mrs. Arnold in the greatest amazement. “What are we going to do? Get out and explore this extraordinary place? It’s like a palace or something, built underground!”
No one was in the enormous, beautiful room except the parrots and the monkeys. Captain Arnold wondered whether or not to let his little party get out of the boat, which was still flowing gently along. And then he caught sight of something just ahead of him on the river.
It was a great golden gate stretched across the water! How strange! The boat would certainly be able to get no further, unless they could open the gate. Captain Arnold had a queer feeling that it would be better not to land in the strange room, but to go on, and see if by chance he could open the gate and go on his way.
So the boat went on towards the shining gate — and that was the end of their queer journey! For sitting along the banks of the river beside the gate were about a dozen of the red-haired Folk of the Mountain! As soon as they saw the boat coming they leapt to their feet in amazement and shouted and pointed!
The boat came to a stop by the gate. “It’s all up now,” said Captain Arnold in disgust. “We can’t escape any further! They’ve got us!”
Sure enough, they were prisoners in about half a minute! The boat was pulled to the bank, and the Mountain Folk dragged the little company from their boat. They seemed astonished to see Jack and Mafumu.
“They don’t know that Jack and Mafumu are here, of course,” said Captain Arnold. “They know we’ve escaped because our cave is empty, but they didn’t know anything about these two boys! Look — they are taking us back to that strange and beautiful room.”
They passed through a great doorway into the big apartment they had just floated through. But now it was no longer empty! On a kind of throne at one end sat a tall, red-bearded, yellow-skinned man, whose eyes glinted strangely as he gazed down at the four people before him.
“He must be their chief or king,” said Captain Arnold. “I don’t like the look of him much.”
Behind the chief stood a company of the Mountain Folk, all with flaming red beards. They held curious spears that glittered from end to end, and from their heads rose shining sun-rays that gleamed as they turned to one another. Mafumu was so frightened that he could hardly stand and Jack had to hold him up.
The big chief spoke in a harsh and stony voice. Only Mafumu understood a little of what he said, and what he heard made him tremble, for he knew that these sun-worshippers meant to throw one or more of them down the mountain-side as a kind of sacrifice to the sun. The red-bearded chief gave a sharp order, and at once the men with spears closed round the four and completely surrounded them.
They were marched off through the great room, with the screeching of the three parrots sounding in their ears. And they were taken to the top of the mountain, where the rest of the party were! But the way they went was quite different from the way that the others had taken!
They were marched to a small room in which stood what looked like a cage of gold, beautifully carved and worked. “Look!” said Jack, pointing upwards. “There’s a hole going through the roof of this room, up and up and up!”
There was — and it was there for a curious purpose, too. It was to take the cage upwards, just as a lift-shaft holds a rising lift. The golden cage was a kind of simple lift — but the ropes that hauled it up were pulled by men and not by machinery.
The little party were crammed into the cage, with four of the Mountain Folk. The door was shut. One of the men shouted a sharp order — and immediately twenty men began to haul strongly on some massive ropes that hung down from another hole in the roof.
The cage shot upwards like a lift! Mafumu was terrified, he had never even been in a lift before! The others were amazed, but they showed no fear, and Mrs. Arnold bent down to comfort the poor little boy.
Up and up they went, sometimes fast, sometimes slow, right to the very top of the mountain. They came to a stop underneath a round and gleaming trap-door, which was bolted underneath. One of the men slid back the bolts, pressed a spring and the door opened upwards, falling back silently on its hinges. The cage rose slowly once again, and when it was level with the ground it stopped.
The door of the golden cage was opened, and everyone stepped out. Captain and Mrs. Arnold looked round. They had no idea where they were at first — and then they realized that they were on the very summit of the Secret Mountain! They held their breath as they looked at the magnificent view!
The cage-lift had come up through a hole right in the very middle of the vast courtyard that spread over the top of the mountain. Jack took a quick look round and wondered if any of the others were there, but he could see no one.
They were there, of course! They were in the temple, eating some of the fruit that had been brought to them, having wrapped themselves up well in the rugs, for the wind that blew across the mountain at that time of year was strong and cold, despite the hot sun.
It was Prince Paul who saw the strange and surprising sight of the cage-lift coming up in the middle of the courtyard! He was looking out through the open doorway of the temple, and to his very great amazement he saw what seemed to be a big trap-door slowly open and bend itself back. He swallowed his mouthful in surprise, and choked. Mike banged him on the back.
“Don’t! Don’t! Look! Look!” choked poor Paul, trying to point through the doorway. But everyone thought he was upset because he was choking, and Peggy took a turn at banging him between the shoulders.
Paul saw the golden cage rise up through the trap-door opening. He saw Captain and Mrs. Arnold, Jack and Mafumu get out, with their four guards, and his eyes nearly fell out of his head with amazement and delight. He went quite purple in the face, and leapt to his feet.
“Look!” he yelled to the others. And at last they looked. When they saw the unexpected appearance of eight people in the middle of the smooth courtyard, and when Mike, Peggy and Nora saw that two of them were their own father and mother, what an excitement there was!
With shouts and shrieks the children rushed down the temple steps and ran towards the little company in the courtyard. In half a minute they were hugging their father and mother, exclaiming over them, thumping Jack on the back, shouting a hundred questions, and hugging little Mafumu, who was quite overjoyed at seeing all his lost friends so suddenly again.